News

The Chancellor Rachel Reeves met recently with major financial firms at Canary Wharf, encouraging them to invest in emerging markets to boost Britain’s economy.

The latest figures show that the government had a surplus of £15.4 billion in January. This represents the difference between the tax it receives and what it spends.

Pulpex, a sustainable packaging company, has received £43.5 million from the National Wealth Fund in exchange for an equity share of the business. The Scottish National Investment Bank is also investing £10 million with a further £8.5 million coming from existing investors.

Beginning last week (17 February), Local Authorities were able to begin awarding a 40% reduction in business rates bills to film studios. The tax relief is aimed at boosting the film industry in the UK and contributing towards more box office hits being made.

Latest figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that average wages are continuing to grow faster than inflation. After adjusting for consumer price inflation (CPI), wages rose 3.4% between October and December 2024 when compared with the same period in 2023.

Inflation figures for January 2025 were released last week and showed a surprising jump to 3.0%, up from 2.5% in December.

The UK government has intensified its crackdown on illegal working, with January 2025 seeing record enforcement activity. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced these efforts as the Border Security, Asylum, and Immigration Bill returned to Parliament last week.

Following the reduction in the Bank of England base rate, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that their interest rates will be reduced accordingly.

The government announced major plans last week to modernise the house buying and selling process. The reforms centre on digitalising and making property and identity data available electronically. This will allow mortgage companies and surveyors to have information within easy reach.

The Bank of England reduced their base rate to 4.5% last week, as had been widely expected in the days leading up to the decision.

The Prime Minister and Chancellor met with business leaders last week and unveiled proposals to give occupational defined pension schemes more flexibility.

The new economic secretary to the Treasury, Emma Reynolds, has said that there are no plans to regulate businesses, whether big or small, to compel them to accept cash.

In the runup to Small Business Saturday last week, a new Disability Finance Code was launched.

New changes come into effect from January 2025 where online platforms, such as eBay and Airbnb, will start sharing some user sales and personal data with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

The government’s promised new Fair Payments Code was launched last week to try and tackle late payment problems that can be particularly harmful to small businesses.